venue and created a party atmosphere,positioning hospitality areas near itssignature Bear Trap, offering a Kenny

G concert and live music for spectators
as soon as the last putt dropped after
the first three rounds. Two nights of
fireworks, free admission for children 15
and under and free Saturday child care
for spectators also helped.

Within the community, he set up anetwork of ambassadors similar to theByron Nelson’s Salesmanship Club.

Many were friends Kennerly developed
when he moved to North Palm Beach
in 1993 to run the sports management
division of Nicklaus’ Golden Bear
International. When Nicklaus took his
company public in 1996, Kennerly left
and formed International Golf Partners, where he managed players and
events. Getting the Honda contract was
fortuitously timed.

Walton Street Capital had just
bought PGA National and was beginning a $100 million renovation of the
property. The resort lobby’s iBar
quickly developed a reputation as one
of the most popular hangouts on tour.

Even a misstep, commissioningBulgarian artist Kiril Jeliazkov to painta series of impressionistic canvasesthat were stationed around the coursein 2008, yielded a positive: NBCexecutive producer Tommy Roy’s bluntreminder: “This is a golf tournament,not an art show.”Kennerly took Roy’s message toheart, and through his relationshipwith Chubby Chandler at Interna-tional Sports Management, extendedinvitations in 2009 to Darren Clarkeand McIlroy, then 19. With Els’ win by astroke over Luke Donald in ’08 and theendorsement of Clarke and McIlroy,more Europeans started playing theHonda as a bridge between the WGCevents in Arizona and Miami.

Like European stars McIlroy, Clarke,
Donald and Lee Westwood, a new
breed of Americans led by Fowler and
Keegan Bradley (as well as Uihlein and
Koepka) make Jupiter their home base
and the Honda a home game. Though
International Management Group
bought Kennerly’s business, he still
presides over the Honda and heads up
IMG’s North America events.

“We are over the moon with what
we’re about to get into,” Kennerly said
before heading to his office. “We keep
talking about the top eight in the world,
and that’s not including Graeme [Mc-Dowell], Louis [Oosthuizen] and Charl
[Schwartzel], Keegan, Rickie, Hideki
Matsuyama and others. It’s top-heavy,
which is how we’re promoting it.” N

Right time: Mickelson indicated an interest
in returning to the Honda six years ago. Turns
out 2014 worked a couple of ways for him.

Jason Allred’s decision to play the Honda
Classic was made by wife Kimberly, who
gave birth to a healthy baby girl Feb. 24,
allowing Jason to travel to Florida from
their home in Arizona the following day.

“Maybe in this situation it’s best to
go and play your heart out and care
for us that way,” Kimberly had told her
husband after his T- 3 in the Northern
Trust Open earned him a spot in the
Honda. Allred knows the territory. In

2008 he flew a red-eye to Palm Beach
Gardens and waited on the putting green
as first alternate until no one withdrew.

The Gateway Tour player, who has only
conditional status on the Web.com Tour,
made $388,600 at Riviera—more than
he totaled in 57 previous tour starts. As
he said Monday from Scottsdale, “We
can afford diapers, thankfully.”
One of Stephen Gallacher’s first
memories of TV golf was watching uncle
Bernard compete in the 1983 Ryder Cup
at PGA National. He remembers the
lightning flash across the sky when Lanny
Wadkins stuck the defining wedge shot,
the fabled 3-wood Seve Ballesteros struck
from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole,
and ultimately Bernard missing a putt
to lose to Tom Watson on 17. Gallacher
stepped on the property in Palm Beach
Gardens hoping to re-create moments
of his own. His Q rating is just catching
up with his world ranking (No. 39), which
led to a sponsor’s invite. The winner of
the Dubai Desert Classic hopes to be on
the European Ryder Cup team later this
year in his homeland of Scotland and
ultimately could become a global player
and PGA Tour member. Uncle Bernard,
wearing a pacemaker and recovering from
a heart attack, was to be honored with a
lifetime achievement award last week in
Glasgow by the Scottish Golf Union.